The Skinny Knight

JEEViKA's retail venture catalyzing the rural retail sector: How JEEViKA's Rural Retail Shops kept the market engine running during the pandemic

ISSUE 42 NOVEMBER 2020

A Novelty job for revival

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Global Handwashing Day

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JEEViKA’s Mobile Vaanito the rescue

It is often seen that when it comes to availability of consumer goods, there is a huge

disparity in the quality of products. Good quality products end up in the urban

markets and do not reach the villages. The villagers usually have to use locally

available products which are not regulated by any institution which adversely

affect their health. The presence of large number of petty shops, dealing in same

category of goods, doesn't only divide the consumers but also triggers incongruent

profit distribution. With the idea to aggregate these shops, JEEViKA came up with

the concept of rural retail mart, to ensure access to quality goods to the rural

consumers.

JEEViKA Mobile Vaani: A Customized technical framework

to digitize end user servicesand enhance outreach

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Lead Story : Grameen Bazar catalyzing Rural Markets

Project background: A survey conducted in

2014 revealed that around 70% of the livelihood

options available in rural Bihar are that of petty

shops. Jeevika's didis are increasingly engaging

themselves in this trade. Based on this report it, Jeevika decided to

aggregate the petty shop owners. This

aggregation has made quality goods available in

rural areas and also provided a lucrative market

place to the JEEViKA producer groups.

Membership: Membership is given to petty

shop owners of the area where the RRS is set-up.

The main intention is the aggregation of petty

shop owners as members on the Rural Retail

Shop.

Eligibility criteria for membership: Ÿ Should be a member of Jeevika CBO Ÿ Must own an operational petty shop Ÿ The candidate is required to submit a membership fee of Rs. 2,000 Location selection criteria for setting up of Rural Retail Shop

Ÿ Availability of consumer goods from a wholesale shop, Ÿ Availability of quality products at reasonable rates to ensure competitive margin and Ÿ Availability of goods at nearby petty shop or near the block.

Considering the above logistical criteria, and ensuring quality product at

reasonable rates, the decision to establish Rural Retail Marts in these blocks

was taken. Entrepreneur Selection: Candidates for this intervention are

selected based on two criteria:

Training Support: Training at several levels are conducted:

Ÿ Orientation on RRS promotion guidelines to the BPIU Staff. Ÿ Orientation to the RRS staff Ÿ Orientation to the selected candidates: The training to the selected

candidates are mostly of 4 days residential mode

Review Mechanisms:

The RRS association (All members are part of the association) meets once

in a month to discuss previous month performance and plan for the next

month. For purchase of kirana items a purchaser committee is formed in

Lead Story : Grameen Bazar catalyzing Rural Markets

each RRS. Major role of the committee is to find suitable distributer/ supplier of the kirana items. Association with the

help of purchase committee buy kirana items from selected distributer/ supplier and sells to members. RRS keeps some

margin in order to meet their expense. To run the RRS smoothly a Store Manager and a Store Keeper is appointed by the

association.

Outreach:

RRS started its first operation at Sarmera, Nalanda District in May'18. Started with 30 petty shop owner members, and

currently has more than 72 members. Shop has more than 200 types of product and does transaction of Rs. 4 to 5 lakh per

month. All transactions and inventory is recorded electronically through E-PoS machine. Currently there are 33 Rural

Retail Shops operational and have amassed a business. 33 Rural retails shops are operational in October in the following

districts: Patne-3, Nalanda-3, Gaya-4, Bhojpur-3, Buxar-3. Aurangabad-1, Sheikhpura-1, Vaishali-3, Nawada-2,

Bhagalpur-4, Darbhanga-6, Muzaffarpur-1 Project Support: The fund allocated for each RRS is INR 19.78 Lakh (Fixed Assets- 6.62 Lakh, Operational costs for

one year-13.16 lakhs) and policy has been approved

on the same. The fund requisition takes place after the

formulation of business plan and based on business

plan prepared by the block the funds transfer takes

place.

Capitalizing on the lockdown to keep the economic

engine rolling:

JEEViKA has stepped in the rural retail market

through its customized Rural Retail Shops. These

shops enlisted as essential services are open during

the lockdown to ensure that people in rural areas are

able to meet their needs of groceries and other

essentials. All precautionary measures are being

taken in these shops such as earmarked circles,

sanitized shelves and other prescribed measures. The

customers are also being imparted with information on the pandemic and what preventive steps can be taken to break the

chain. The customers are also being advised not to touch anything in the premises to ensure maximum safety and

minimize chances of contamination. A total of 33 Rural Retail Shops ensured steady availability of goods in the areas

they serve and has prevented people from panic-buying & moving to the cities to buy goods. The quality of goods and

their variety has ensured that customers keep turning in. After the lockdown the RRS's had realized sales worth INR

2.35* Crores through these 33 RRSs located in 9 districts. More than 1200 grocery stores & 3000 individual HHs get

benefited directly. Supply of food grains to the needy ones through Food Security Fund procurement is also being taken

care of, these shops have supported over 40 village organizations for under food security fund. The Rural Retail shops

have helped JEEViKA in reaching out to 35000 households through their services.

Results: The Rural Retail Mart has been able to endorse following benefits to its members:

Ÿ An average incremental income of Rs. 2000/month incurred by each member.Ÿ A total of 1200 members are associated with 33 rural retails shops.

JEEViKA’s Mobile Vaani Initiatives

JEEViKA Mobile Vaani: A Customized technical framework to digitize end user services and

enhance outreach

JEEViKA Mobile Vaani (MV) is a mobile-

based voice media/information platform for

SHG members whereby SHG members listen

to the content and also create their own

content through an Interactive Voice

Response System (IVRS). JEEViKA Mobile

Vaani has been envisioned as a sustainable,

technology based solution addresses the

problem of last mile information distribution

in rural population. The voice-based nature of

the system helps jump barriers without the

need for the users to own smartphones or an

internet connection – a simple voice call is all

that it takes to access the system.

This program provides a platform for community engagement on Health, Nutrition, and Sanitation (HNS) and other

priority issues such as realization of social entitlements, child marriage and dowry, and financial schemes/products.

The pilot of JEEViKA Mobile Vaani was implemented through Community Mobilizers to reach end users in 6 blocks of

Nalanda district. The external evaluation revealed a significant increase in knowledge related to the administration of

ORS to small children with diarrhea, complementary feeding nutrient requirements for young children, and the right

consistency of food to be served to children. Knowledge levels were significantly higher among those women who

received the MV intervention compared to the baseline estimates. Encouraged by the pilot results, JEEViKA scale-up

across their implementation geographies, and identified a capability building transition program over a period of 24

months, wherein the capacity of their internal teams will be built to utilize Mobile Vaani. The project adopted and

validated a technology based approach for awareness raising and behavior reinforcement. The Mobile Vaani platform

leverages the deep penetration of mobile phones in rural community of Bihar, utilizing the technology to overcome

literacy and internet connectivity barriers to access information. Currently Jeevika is implementing Mobile Vaani in 15

blocks of Nalanda and 5 blocks of Muzaffarpur districts. The IVR based platform being operated & Managed jointly by

JEEViKA and Gram Vaani. Gram Vaani is financially supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Aims and Objectives The key objectives of this project are:

Ÿ Build the capacity of the JEEViKA internal team to leverage Mobile Vaani for health and nutrition behavior

change communication. Demonstrate this capacity by enabling JEEViKA to run Mobile Vaani across 15 blocks in

the Nalanda district and 5 blocks in Muzaffarpur. Ÿ Enable JEEViKA to leverage this capacity to eventually expand and scale the Mobile Vaani program across all its

operational districts in Bihar.Ÿ Enhance the technology of the Mobile Vaani platform by automating several functions to improve the scalability

of the platform so that it can be used more effectively for content testing, data collection, and improve access for

women to health information leading to improved household decision making

5

JEEViKA’s Mobile Vaani Initiatives

Deliverables of the project:

Ÿ Capacity building of the JEEViKA thematic cadre in specified districts to mobilize SHG members and onboard

them on the MV platform.Ÿ Capacity building of the JEEViKA communication team for content planning and creation.Ÿ Facilitate setting up a moderation unit for moderation of content created by JEEViKA and SHG members.Ÿ Capacity building of the JEEViKA communication and thematic teams, and setting up of a coordination unit, to

monitor and manage the operations of the Mobile Vaani

program successfully.Ÿ Setting up a Mobile Vaani platform for SHG members in the

specified districts of Bihar.Features Ÿ Mobile vaani is discussion oriented nature encourages self-

expression and sharing of stories and experiences. This

facilitates people to learn from peer groups and adopt best

health & nutrition and other vertical practices leading to

effective behavior change and knowledge enhancement.Ÿ Voice based communication can overcome literacy barriers

and even semi-literate people are able to participate in Jeevika

Mobile VaaniŸ This platform can be accessed even with the basic phone and does not require the user to own smart phones or have

an internet connection. A simple voice call is all that it takes to access the system.

Mobile Vaani’s astounding role in COVID-19 Response

In its bid to fight the AES outbreak, JEEViKA has roped in Mobile Vaani for spreading awareness through the IVR

platform, JEEViKA has till date collected more than 10,00,000 mobile numbers of community members and has used

the platform to release more than 30 voice messages on COVID-19 and is also addressing the community's queries

through the same. The awareness drive has ensured that more people are acquainted about the outbreak and necessary

steps can be taken at the household level to flatten the curve and break the chain of the pandemic. JEEViKA has trained

70890 community professionals and 8.6 lakh self-help groups for awareness on COVID-19. These efforts have helped

in reaching out to 50.52 lakh households for awareness.

Current outreach

JEEViKA Mobile Vaani is being implemented in 20 different district of Nalanda and Muzaffarpur. During the outbreak

of Pandemic COVID-19 it has been expanded for COVID-19 Messaging in 14 districts of Bihar. Particulars Muzaffarpur Nalanda COVID

Intervention geography 5 blocks 15 blocks 14 Districts

Database of SHG

members/Cadre98K 26K 367K

Total Outreach (SHG

members/Cadre)62K 24K 139K

No. of successful calls heard 407K 103K 297K

Per user content heard (in

Mins)20.8 29.5 7.89

JEEViKA’s Mobile Vaani Initiatives

On the Mobile Vaani platform in

muzffarpur focus in on AES

dissemination while in Nalanda

Health, nutrition and sanitation

while keeping in view of Covid-19

Pandemic, messaging related to

COVID FAQ on Protection &

prevention, self and family care

and getting tested were in focus.

The adjacent infographics in the

next section represent the month

wise user outreach (unique

listener) total call heard by these

users and total call heard (minutes)

in current FY2020-21. When

lockdown has announced in state

millions of migrant laborer

returned to native village.

In the News

A Novelty job for revival

Phekni displays a resentful smile

while telling the story of how tides

turned in her favor. A resident of

Baghwara village in Dhamdaha

block of purnea district, Phekni was

shell—shocked after the lockdown

worrying about how she will fulfill

her needs. Phekni has been a

member of JEEViKA SHG since

23rd March, 2010. Ever since,

Phekni has been an ardent and

active member of the SHG,

attending all the meetings, participating in the campaigns and movements such as total sanitation and

alcohol prohibition. Phekni simultaneously undertook livelihood activities such as farming, stitching

and the likes. She took a loan from her SHG to buy the stitching machine and repaid the loan from her

earnings. Things were going fine till lockdown was declared this year to curb the spread of the novel

corona virus, Phekni had to shut down her business. However, as agriculture and MGREGA activities

were allowed after May 2020, MGNREGA consultant told Phekni's village organization about the

opportunity to work as a mate in the NGNREGA work sites. Phekni was interested in working as a mate

and inform the workers about usage of masks, sanitizers, maintaining physical distancing and the likes.

Working as a mate in a nearby pond digging work, Phekni was able to earn INR 6360 @ INR 159 for 40

man days of work.

Celebration of Global Handwashing Day

In the light of its prevalence in the current times,

Global Handwashing Day was celebrated

across the state on 15th October.

The community members across all districts

have actively participated in the activities

pertaining to the day and took the oath to

inculcate the habit of washing hands at regular

intervals for both hygiene and prevention from

the infectious COVID-19.

l JEEViKA’s Call Center aiding the community for grievance redressing and service optimization

November

Editor : Mrs. Mahua Roy Choudhury (PC-G&KM) I Compiled by : Mr. Abhijeet Mukherjee (YP-KMC) I Designed by : Priya Priydarshi (Designer)

Vidhyut Bhawan-II, Bailey Road, Patna - 800021; Ph.:+91-612-250 4980Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society

Fax: +91-612 250 4960, Website : www.brlp.in; e-mail:info@brlp.in

Nov 26 : Statewide Alcohol Prohibition Day Nov 10-12: Training of officials in the FPCs promoted by JEEViKA

JEEViKA's Mobile Vaani to the rescue Mina is a resident of Brajmuriya village in Minapur block of Muzaffarpur.

Mina elatedly tells How mobile vaani proved to be vital in saving the life of

her child. Mina says that she regularly attends the meetings of her SHG and she

was told about the mobile vaani initiatives and how it be used to disseminate

messages personally on mobile phones regarding health issues. The number

8800458666 was flashed, and the shg members were told that any health

related query can be asked by giving a call on the number and no charges

would be incurred. Mina tells that she was regularly getting calls from Mobile

Vaani on 'Chamki Bukhar' Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and related

topics. She further tells that her 3 year old child fell sick with high fever and

seizures. She tells that she brushed her child with cold water as instructed in

the messages, when this didn't work she called 108 as she had heard on one of

the messages. The ambulance reached within half an hour of placing the call

and was admitted to SKMCH. The child was released after 4 days, and is now

totally healthy. Mina thanks JEEViKA and Mobile Vaani for the guidance she

got and was able to respond quickly without panicking in order to save her child .